The Shield stars threatened by street gangs

You've probably heard or read stories in the past of how real life can break into shows like Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street, and Rescue Me. What usually happens is some type of real emergency occurs while the actors are filming a made-up one for the television viewers. Or, someone will come up to an actor who portrays some kind of 'First Response' character on a show and demand that they arrest a neighbor or help them get their pet down from a tree.

While filming for the current set of episodes the cast and crew of the FX series were chased off a set in a Los Angeles gang district. Apparently, the actions were not cleared by the local street bosses. Shield star Michael Chiklis admits that he was terrified when gun-toting gang members came up to him and his fellow cast members and asked them to halt shooting.

This is not the first time that The Shield crew has had issues with L.A. street gangs. When the pilot was being filmed Chiklis and friends were confronted by another group of gang members who demanded payment for shooting in their territory. After consulting with some retired cops who were with him at the time The Shield crew decided to pay the nice gentleman. Wow, and I thought The Shield exaggerated all of that L.A. gang action for TV. Guess I know better now.